Angela's Posts

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Continuing my last post on infrared film, I wanted to offer some specific tips on handling and using this expensive film that's becoming harder and harder to find (but, is totally worth the cost and trouble!). The following tips will help with black and white infrared film:

Filters help bring out all the qualities we love about infrared (IR) film: dark skies, white foliage and clouds, and smooth, pale skin. A red #25 filter is the standard, however Freestyle Photo has a nice list of filters, both recommended and not, with their specific exposure adjustments.

Unlike traditional film, infrared (IR) film can only be handled in complete darkness. This means that the film cannot be removed from the light and air-tight plastic outer canister unless in total darkness or within a changing bag. The felt lining of the film trap is not always light-tight enough to prevent exposure.

Most automatic cameras use an IR sensor to advance the film to the next frame. An IR sensor is also often used in auto-focus cameras to measure distance. Both of these sensors will fog IR film. Fully-manual cameras, or cameras that use a zone focusing system, are the safest bet to use with IR film to make sure the only exposure happening is from the shutter, and when you want it.

If the camera has a film window, cover it completely with gaffer's tape to keep light out.

Light meters will not provide an accurate reading since they measure visible light, not IR. Brightness is usually an indicator of the amount of IR light available.

Time of year will affect the amount of IR light available. Plants undergo less photosynthesis during colder months, so leaves, which usually appear lighter on IR film may not have the same impact as in the warmer months. Heat can cause IR film to fog, so do not leave this film in a hot car and consider waiting until a cooler day to take outside.

As soon as the last frame is shot, unload (in total darkness or in a changing bag) into a plastic canister and label as IR. If outsourcing developing, make sure the lab knows it is IR so they handle it appropriately: in a tank, not a processing machine, which uses IR sensors.

I'd share black and white infrared photos of my own if I actually had ones that were properly exposed...I could've used these tips, myself!

As always, if you have suggestions or tips of your own, please share in the comments.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

I was recently searching for film to buy and saw an auction for "infrared" film, however what was being auctioned wasn't true infrared film -it was infrared-like. So, I thought I would take this opportunity to talk about the properties that make infrared film infrared.

What does infrared mean? Well, light is electromagnetic radiation (EMR), a form of energy that is emitted through charged particles. EMR is divided into frequencies, which include visible light, infrared radiation, radio waves, and x-rays.

Visible light has a short wavelength of about 380 nm to 740 nm, which is the light that we see. The infrared spectrum falls above the visible red wavelength at about 700 nm and includes the far-infrared thermal radiation emitted by objects in thermal imaging. Infrared film is sensitive to the near-infrared spectrum.

Infrared-like film, or film that has extended infrared sensitivity, is not true infrared film, however its sensitivity reaches the bottom limit of the infrared range (at ~780 nm). This film can be handled and developed like regular film without special handling requirements. An example of infrared-like film is Ilford's SFX, which even the Lomography website incorrectly classifies as true infrared film.

True infrared film is sensitive to wavelengths up to 900 nm and requires special handling, filters, and even specific types of cameras. An example of true infrared film is Rollei IR. Unfortunately, many of the true infrared films are no longer manufactured.

Hopefully this helps to differentiate between the two types of film that produce infrared and infrared-like effects. Next time I will talk more about the special handling requirements of infrared film and the types of effects both of the film types offer.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Not much has changed since I last wrote about snow and its impact on exposure and color when photographed. Before heading out, take a few minutes to review how all the white stuff and the extra brightness it brings will confuse the light meter and how a gray card will help determine the correct exposure to avoid blue or gray snow. For those of you shooting digital, consider shooting in RAW so that the white balance can be adjusted in post-processing.

If anyone has tips they'd like to share, please do so in the comments!

Wednesday, February 05, 2014

In the process of switching renters insurance recently, I started thinking about the post I wrote several years ago related to art insurance. If I suddenly found myself in the aftermath of an emergency, like a fire, would I have any idea if my cameras, negatives, and prints were covered? Would I even know what I had lost if I had never taken inventory to know what I actually had?

While I do maintain inventory of prints that have sold or are in the possession of galleries, I haven't created a list of prints still in my possession (there are a lot and the work is a little overwhelming to start). Likewise, while I could probably list my cameras, I'm sure I would forget some of them, and I certainly wouldn't know the serial numbers, which would be very important in the event of a break-in or if I were to get robbed while out and about.

Over the course of two days, I pulled my apartment apart, unpacking closets, boxes, bags, and other hidden spots where cameras, lenses, bags, flashes, tripods, filters, lens extenders, light meters, and other miscellaneous gear had been stashed and forgotten about. Using a Google doc spreadsheet (it's in the cloud, so no worries about melted hard drives) I logged each and every one of these things, just in case.

For the cameras, I logged the make, model, and serial number. Mid-way through the process, I thought why not also record the type of battery, the year I got it, if it was new or used, and also any problems or notes (like, any modifications I've made, sticky shutter, broken light meter, bad battery connections, etc - I have several older cameras that no longer work, but I can't bring myself to part with). In a new spreadsheet, I listed every lens with its serial number and the camera to which it belongs, along with notes to remind me that the mount is loose, for example. I then proceeded to do the same with external flashes, and then for the odds and ends. I drew the line and stopped at filters, however, because there are so many and, honestly, I got lazy.

Now that step one is complete, I can look at ways to add this property to my insurance coverage and not worry about it anymore. The next project will be to do the same with all of my prints, frames, sheets of plexiglass ... later, though.

Friday, January 31, 2014

Things happen, like right after you load a brand new roll of film only to find that the camera battery is dead and, in the process of rewinding the film, the leader goes right into the canister. That's just one example that over time has resulted in a handful of unshot, perfectly good rolls of film that can't be used because the leader strip is inside the canister. They've sat in the refrigerator waiting for me to rescue them when the time was right, like today.

I found several methods for retrieving the film leader from the canister, picked one, and it worked. Using the leader from a roll of old color film, I licked the emulsion, stuck it in the canister at the bottom (the end with the little knob, because that's where the leader is), turned the knob counter-clockwise a few times, and quickly pulled out the rescue leader. The film came out with it on the first try (I think I got lucky).

Step 1:

Insert the moistened rescue leader into the canister, positioned towards the end where the knob is located.

Step 2:

Quickly pull the rescue leader out of the canister. Hopefully, the lost leader or film will come out with it. As you can see in this example, the film had torn, causing the problem.

Here are some other ways to retrieve that little strip of film if you find yourself in a similar predicament:

1) Use a film leader retriever. With an average cost of $5, these little metal gadgets fit into the canister's film trap and grab the leader quickly and easily. Here's a demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Voxdvu7Loj8 If you don't have one handy and there's a photo lab nearby, they will usually be nice enough to pull out the leader for you. If film is your thing, maybe consider adding one to your collection.

2) Use my method above but with double-sided tape. I also read that inserting a piece of tape will work, but that sounds like it could be a sticky situation if the tape tears.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Since winter's only just getting started, I thought it would be a good idea to review ways to protect cameras and gear from cold weather, and expand on the post I originally wrote several years ago.

The plastic bag method is still the best to prevent the formation of condensation. However, the best approach to reduce problems associated with extreme cold is to keep gear warmer than the ambient air. Since you're already wearing an insulating coat, keep your camera in there between shoots and put it back before it has a chance to cool off. Keeping the inside of the gear bag warm using a hand warmer is also a great approach. However, if the camera is cold and the inside of your jacket or bag is warm, condensation can also form, so keep that in mind and use the plastic bag method.

Besides condensation, plastic parts may become brittle and metal has a tendency to shrink, and film can become brittle. As a result, handle gear and film more gently, especially when changing lenses, and take it slow when rewinding manual cameras. For those of us still using instant film, note that development will slow as temperatures drop, so adjust times accordingly (this may require some trial and error until all the specifics are worked out).

I hope these help! If you have additional suggestions or tips for protecting gear from winter weather, please let us know in the comments.

Friday, August 16, 2013

About 12 years ago, I took a
photography class (that I didn't complete). One of the projects involved
photographing a solid black wall and a solid white wall. "Well,
that's dumb," I remember thinking, but I did it, anyway. At the
time, I didn't understand the point of that assignment until I got the film
back - the black wall wasn't black and the white wall wasn't white - they were
both shades of gray.

During that same assignment, one of
the exposure settings for each of those walls was to be taken using a meter
reading from the ground or in a nearby shady spot. Those pictures came
out more true-to-life. It turned out, the instructor was teaching us
about the way many light meters measure the light as an average of the entire
scene to find the mid-tone. Taking the reading from the shade and ground
faked out the camera by setting my own mid-tone.

Another way to measure or estimate the
proper exposure for such high contrast, neutral-colored scenes is to use a gray card.A gray card is a flat, matte gray sheet of cardboard that reflects 18%
of the light shone on it, referred to as incident light. An average scene
is thought to reflect 18% of the light that falls on it (though, this is
currently up for discussion since studies have shown this is closer to
13%). By using an 18% gray card within the same incident light, the
reflected light reading can be measured. Set the camera's exposure to
this light meter reading and you've set your own mid-tone which will produce an
ideal exposure closer to the actual scene and how you saw it.

To
use a gray card
to determine the correct exposure of a scene, first set the camera to manual mode. Place
the gray card within the scene and orient the card so that it is parallel to
your lens. Take a light meter reading of the card. Set the camera's
exposure to this reading and shoot.

A gray card can be used with both hand-held
and on-camera light meters, though, depending on the type, they may meter
differently. On-camera light meters measure light
differently based on their type:
spot meters use the spot on the center of the ground glass visible through the
viewfinder; center-weighted meters average the light in the circular area in
the middle of the frame, while matrix/evaluative take an overall reading within
the frame. If you're using the camera's on-board light meter, then make
sure the gray card fills the area from which the light is measured. If
you're not sure, try getting close enough so that the card is the only object
being read by the meter and go from there.

Gray cards are available in many forms
and sizes that fit in your bag or back pocket, while others can be much
larger. I happen to have a photography field guide that included gray
cards in the front and back of the cover, so I just tore one out and stuck it
in my bag.

Gray cards may be used with both film
and digital cameras, though digital cameras also have a middle gray within the
file's histogram that can be used to balance the picture in
post-processing. Hopefully these tips help you discover a new way to
determine the best exposure so all of your photos turn out exactly as you
wanted them to.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Back
in the olden days, portraits took a long time since they had to be carved in
stone. Then, cameras were invented. It's hard to believe these primitive
cameras used an archaic medium called film, and there was no "auto"
setting, so exposure had to be set by hand. Thank goodness we left the
dark ages for digital cameras and their on-board light meters, phew!

Except
that people still use those primitive cameras, film is still the same fantastic
medium it always was, and there isn't always time to stop and take a light
reading before that dog riding the unicycle gets away. How can you
be sure to get the right exposure? (And, you ran out the door without
your cell phone, what
are the chances?!)

The
Sunny 16 Rule is
a method to estimate the correct exposure without a light meter:On
a sunny day, set the aperature to f/16 and the shutter speed to
the 1/ISO (film speed or digital ISO setting) for a subject in direct
sunlight.

This
means that if the dog riding the unicycle is also wearing sunglasses because
it's so bright and sunny, and the film loaded in your camera is ISO 100, set
the aperature to f/16 and the shutter speed to 1/100 (or 1/125 if that's the
lowest setting on your camera). If the film is ISO 400, then the
aperature is set to f/16 and the shutter speed is set to 1/400 or 1/500.
Pretty simple, huh?

Of
course, an aperture of f/16 may not always work for your needs - and, the Sunny
16 Rule can be adjusted. Think of f/16 as a starting point - as long as
the aperture and shutter speeds are equivalent, they can be changed: at
ISO 400, with each decrease in aperture number (from f/16 to f/11), double the
shutter speed (from 1/500 to 1/1000). Taking this in the other direction,
increase the aperture number by one stop (from f/16 to f/22) and decrease
the shutter speed by half (from 1/500 to 1/250). This basically keeps the
amount of light hitting the film or sensor the same since the proportions
between the size of the opening (aperature) and the time it's open (shutter
speed) are consistent.

If
the weather isn't sunny, there are other aperature starting points to guide you
- just combine with 1/ISO shutter speed:

Bright sand or
snow: f/22

Sunny, hazy day:
f/11

Bright, cloudy
day (faint shadows): f/8

Heavy
clouds/overcast (no shadows): f/5.6

Heavy shade
(shadows from tall buildings): f/4

Hopefully this
will help estimate the correct exposure starting point when using a camera
without an on-board or hand-held light meter, or to even creatively adjust your
DSLR.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

A few weeks ago, I attended
the FotoWeekDC lecture about photographers' rights
presented by Mickey Osterreicher, General Counsel for the National Press
Photographers Association (NPPA), and Richard Kelly, former Association of Media
Photographers (ASMP) President. The lecture covered model
releases, explained privacy rights of individuals when in public and in private
and how photographers should approach each of these situations, and talked
about recent developments in the years following the 9/11 terrorist attacks,
which have found photographers at odds with security and law enforcement
particularly with regard to photographing federal buildings, even passively.

In 2010, the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security issued an official position on photography of
federal buildings in response to complaints that photographers were receiving
conflicting information please download the bulletin released by the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security on August 2, 2010. The NPAA has done
extensive work to define, defend, and preserve the rights of photographers of
all levels. To learn more about the NPPA and its advocacy work, please
visit their blog.

Photographers may also wish
to download The
Photographers Right, a flyer explaining the rights of a photographer
when stopped or confronted for photography, and keep a copy in their camera
bag.

Hopefully these documents
will help all photographers to better understand their rights when in certain
situations.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

One of the places on Earth where I've always wanted to go is
Antarctica. I've never been anywhere that cold, that windy, or that full
of penguins. Sure, I could take an Antarctic cruise, but that's barely
going to get me off the boat. Alas, the entire continent is protected,
thanks to the Antarctic Treaty signed
in 1959, so it's not like I can find a flight - there aren't any.

Now, I could take some advice from photographer Gaston Lacombe and apply for an
Antarctic residency. He traveled to Esperanza, the Argentine
scientific base in Antarctica, from January to March 2012 as an Artist-in-Residence.
When I saw that he, along with Argentine artist Andrea Juan, were showing
work created during their stay in The
Antarctica Project, Boston University Center for Digital Imaging Arts
(CDIA)'s FotoWeekDC exhibit, I immediately got in touch with him to talk about
his photographic adventure to the Antarctic peninsula. And, about all the
penguins.

Antarctica is a protected nature reserve so everything
brought onto the continent must be inspected and no rocks or animals may be disturbed.
Leaving the base is extremely dangerous due to the tendency of the weather to
change very quickly, and the perimeter is marked with chains and signs to help
keep anyone from travelling too far. Their closest neighbors are Adélie penguins.
About 250,000 of them, including babies. "It was the most adorable thing
I've ever seen in the world", Lacombe described. #squee

An Adélie penguin glides in freshly fallen snow, at the Esperanza Base in Antarctica. Photograph by Gaston Lacombe.

The Adélie penguins are small, standing only about two feet
tall, and differ from Emperor penguins in that they are only black and
white. You can't hug them - I asked. They return to their breeding
grounds in the summer, which runs from November through March, to lay eggs and
raise their ridiculously cute babies, and then return to the sea ice. While on
land, the penguins follow specific roads to and from the water, and they are
color-coded: pink from the colony to the sea and brown from the sea back
to the colony. The brown color is dirt and mud, but the pink? That's
penguin poop. From eating all the shrimp. And, it can be seen from space.

Lacombe shot over 20,000 photographs of the penguins and other Antarctic
life such as birds, seals, sea lions, and algae. He approached this
exhibit searching for life and color in an otherwise stark, barren landscape in
a harsh white climate. Along with the penguin roads, the ice may be
colored red or green by algae blooms. Juan, an installation artists,
brightened the landscape with brilliantly-colored fabrics that appear
superimposed on the white background. Her photographs of these
installations offer a philosophical look at how the continent might change as a
result of climate change, bringing new organisms and resculpting the terrain.

Obviously, the trip had its share of obstacles along the way. The
gargantuan task of editing 20,000 photos was made even more difficult by a
broken computer, damaged during the week of travel to the Esperanza Base.
Lacombe and Juan could only take what they could carry, and that included
photographic equipment, computers, and Juan's installation materials, along
with their regular travel items like clothing and other sundries. When
asked if he'd always wanted to visit Antarctica, Lacombe responded with,
"I've always wanted to go everywhere." And that includes
returning to Antarctica at some point.

On Sunday, I attended Lacombe and Juan's lecture
on The Antarctica Project and their work on the base as part of
the FotoWeekDC festival. In
addition to his photographs, Lacombe produced a 30-minute documentary film
on the human element in Antarctica (people live there, but not for more than a
year at a time). If you can imagine the adorableness of baby penguins
learning to swim for the first time, well, he caught that, too.

The Antarctica Project with work from both Gaston
Lacombe and Andrea Juan is on exhibit at now CDIA in
Georgetown.